Podcast Runtimes Differ Between Android and Apple Devices

[lazymac]

Plan

Premium Duo

Country

Can

Device

iPhone X vs. Pixel 3a

Operating System

iOS vs. Android

My Question or Issue

Hello,

I recently upgrade to Premium Duo with the hope that I would be able to sync up and listen to the same podcast on two accounts at the same time.

However, I kept noticing that podcast episodes would run shorter on an Android device (Pixel 3a) than on an Apple device (iPhone X). At first glance, the time listed on the progress bar looked the same on both devices, but as soon as I hit play on the Pixel, the runtime would become shorter (see attached screen captures).

Sticking with the example shown (Podcast: We Can Do Hard Things with Glennon Doyle - Episode: How to Live a Little Happier with Dr. Laurie Santos), the audio was synced up until ~12:55 at which point an ad for Shopify (read by the host of the podcast) would play on the iPhone while the Pixel would continue to play regular podcast content. 

Any idea why one device would play ads while the other would not?

And why does the Pixel show the full runtime (which aligns with runtime shown on the iPhone) and then change once I've hit play?

Thanks,

Nik

[OscarDC]

Hey @lazymac,

Thank you for reaching out to the Community and welcome.

The difference between the duration of the podcast seen on the screenshot, is caused by the Streaming Ads Insertion (SAI). This is a dynamic and random ad insertion tech available for podcast producers. As it is random, it may show up or not, but it's not necessarily depending on the platform (Android/iOS).

You can find more info about it in this article here.

Hope this helps. If anything else comes up, the Community will be here for you.

[lazymac]

Hi @OsccarDC,

Thanks for your response.

Just to clarify, even premium accounts will have ads inserted for certain content?

And if that's the case, for people using the group session feature, is there a way to have the same ads inserted so that the timing's consistent when listening to podcasts?

Thanks,

Nik

[CarlosE]

Hi again @lazymac,

Thanks for your reply.

Advertising is very much tied to the traditional podcast listening experience that has worked well for both creators and listeners in the past. So, even as a Premium member, you may hear advertising or sponsorship messages within the episodes.

Changing tunes, keep in mind that Group Sessions and SAI (Streaming Ads Insertion) function independently from one another, so it's currently not possible to sync those up.

Remember the Community is here in case you need anything else.

Cheers!